Aftermath
by Rapunzel4
Summary: Haruka and Michiru have a talk after the incident at the Marine Cathedral. Warning: shoujo ai


Disclaimers: I don't own Sailor Moon, and I never will.  
  
Warnings: Shoujo ai, POV, some angst, sap, sap, sap. Did I mention sap? Diabetics, have some insulin handy for this one.  
  
Author's Ramblings and Regards: First of all, you should all blame Blue Jeans for this, since she was the one who lent me the video with the famous Episode 110 on it. Japanese with English subtitles and everything! I've seen plenty of fics about the incident at the Marine Cathedral, and some about the events leading up to it, but I thought that writing about what happened afterwards would be more fun. I extend my gratitude to all the wonderful sites that provide episode summaries, since I'm a poor college student who can't afford to blow a lot of money buying anime.  
  
Aftermath By Rapunzel  
  
It was raining again.  
  
I looked out the window, unable to see anything through the darkness and the water. I wasn't overly disappointed; I was more staring off into space than actually trying to see anyway. The rain didn't bother me as long as I stayed inside, and I had no intentions of going outside. I felt the need to sit and think for a while.  
  
It was over. It was over, and at the same time it wasn't. We had accomplished the first part of our task; the talismans had been found, and the Grail retrieved. And while I thought that Haruka was probably right, and Sailor Moon was not the true Messiah, at least we knew the Grail wasn't in hostile hands. We had the talismans, and we hadn't even had to kill anyone for them. I was relieved, and I wanted nothing more than to rest and try to forget that terrible battle with Eudial.  
  
I wasn't to be allowed that luxury, and I knew it. No sooner had one mission ended than another one had begun. The Silence was still coming, and it was vital that we find the Messiah, and quickly.  
  
I let my head fall forward to rest against the cold window pane. For the thousandth time I asked myself the same question. Why me? Why us? I thought back to my first meeting with Haruka. How could I blame her for trying to run from her destiny when I wanted to do the very same thing? It seemed that the future held nothing for me but endless battles and loneliness.  
  
The last thought made me turn my head to look towards the other room, where I knew Haruka would be, trying to unwind by watching television. We had been living together for months, purely for convenience. We were friends, we were partners. That was all. I had heard, on more than one occasion that we acted like we were dating. That was probably because of me. I made the moves and put out the signals, but Haruka could be amazingly dense sometimes. She didn't realize that I wished there was truth to the rumors of our relationship. She didn't know that sometimes I went to her room at night to watch her sleep. She didn't realize that I had always planned that if one of us had to die, it would be me, so that she could go on living.  
  
At least, she hadn't realized it before. But now, after the confrontation at the cathedral, she knew. She had to know. I wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or not; that was why I hadn't gone to join her on the couch yet. She would surely bring it up and want to discuss it, and I wasn't sure what the outcome would be. Once she broached the subject, my one-sided longing would be over, for better or for worse. But I was very afraid that it would turn out to be for worse.  
  
I might have sat there for hours in indecision, but the choice was taken out of my hands.  
  
"Michiru!" Haruka called from her seat, and there was a note of urgency in her voice that made me respond immediately. "Michiru, come here and look at this."  
  
She was staring avidly at the television when I entered, and I went to join her, sitting at her side and watching the news broadcast.  
  
"Nearby residents reported strange flashes of light coming from the cathedral earlier this afternoon and called the police in to investigate. Upon arriving at the scene, they found several broken windows and a smashed railing where a car had gone over the edge." Here the screen changed from the reporter to show a shot of the car in question being dragged out of the water. "The identity of the driver, who was killed in the crash, is still unknown."  
  
Haruka and I turned to look at each other. "That was Eudial's car," I said quietly.  
  
"Yeah," she replied. "Imagine that. All that time she spent fighting us, and she dies in a car crash. Kind of ironic when you think about it." Her voice and face were grim as she spoke.  
  
"Why Haruka," I said, "aren't you relieved? Now we won't have to deal with her ever again."  
  
Haruka sat staring at the carpet, face set in a scowl. "I would have hunted her down," she said, her voice full of such loathing and anger that I was alarmed. "I would have made her pay for what she did to you."  
  
I reached out instinctively and settled a hand on her shoulder. "Don't dwell on it," I murmured.  
  
She wouldn't look at me, wouldn't lift her gaze from the carpet. I sighed; inside I knew the time had come for "the talk." Reaching over, I snagged the remote and turned off the TV, since neither one of us was really paying much attention to it anyway.  
  
"Haruka," I began. "Something's bothering you." I deliberately made it a statement, not a question, leaving her no room to deny it.  
  
Finally, she looked at me. "You broke the promise," she said softly.  
  
The promise. That we would ignore each other's danger and push on, no matter the costs.  
  
"You weren't supposed to try and rescue me," she said, sounding sad.  
  
"What was I supposed to do then? Let you die?" I shivered at the very thought. I wouldn't. I couldn't.  
  
"I've left you before," Haruka said.  
  
"That was different," I insisted, seeing the beginnings of another bout of guilt and trying to head it off. "I always caught up to you again in the end."  
  
Her gaze traveled down to the carpet again. "Don't try to make me feel better," she said, almost coldly. "It wasn't different, and we both know it. I left you to die."  
  
I sighed. "Don't feel bad just because you had the strength of will to actually honor the agreement."  
  
"Strength of will?" she repeated. "I'm not the one who had strength of will. I'm not the one who actually managed to keep walking across that bridge."  
  
I felt my cheeks heat as I blushed. For the life of me, I couldn't think of a proper reply. Haruka had, in her own, roundabout way, complimented my strength. To hear such words from a woman whose opinion meant the world to me made my face heat up and my heart beat faster.  
  
While I was still trying to form a proper reply, I noticed Haruka watching me with a curious expression on her face. "What?" I prompted.  
  
"Michiru, do you remember anything from your previous life?"  
  
It seemed a strange question to me, and I wondered what prompted her to ask it now, but I dutifully considered it and answered her. "Not really. Just vague flashes here and there. Sometimes I have dreams about it."  
  
"What do you see in those dreams?"  
  
I opened my mouth to answer and then shut it again. In my mind's eye, I saw some of the dreams again. Dreams of Haruka. Dreams where she held me and kissed me as if it was the most natural thing in the world. To tell the truth, I had never quite been able to figure out which of those dreams were flashbacks and which were simply products of my own wishful thinking.  
  
When I came out of my brief reverie, Haruka was still looking at me expectantly. For the second time in less than five minutes, I found myself with no answer to give her. I just shook my head, hoping that she would take the gesture to mean that I couldn't remember exactly.  
  
For a moment, both of us stared at each other in silence. Then, gathering my courage in both hands, I prepared to tell her about the dreams. Unfortunately, she decided that she had something to tell me at the exact same moment.  
  
"Haruka."  
  
"Michiru."  
  
We both broke off, smiling at each other. "Ladies first," Haruka said.  
  
I giggled. "That doesn't narrow it down much, you know."  
  
"Oh yes it does. I said _ladies_. I'm not a lady, I'm a tomboy."  
  
There was no arguing with that, so I began. "In the dreams, I see. . . I see this." And I leaned forward and kissed her. It was not particularly passionate, but it was a kiss.  
  
When I pulled back, Haruka didn't react. She simply stared at me, a slightly dazed expression on her face. She blinked several times, but other than that, she gave no sign that she was sentient.  
  
My heart fell. "I'm sorry," I said. "I've overstepped my bounds."  
  
"N-no," she stammered quickly. "You haven't. It's just. . ."  
  
I sat still, waiting for her to continue, but she didn't. At last, understanding dawned on me. "Haruka, was that your first kiss? It couldn't have been."  
  
"And why not?" she said, almost haughtily. "Who else would I kiss? A boyfriend?"  
  
That made me laugh. Try as I might, I couldn't picture Haruka with a boyfriend. She'd have probably scared the heck out of any poor guy who tried to date her.  
  
"It's funny," she said. "I had those dreams too. I thought they were just wishful thinking on my part. But then when you tried so hard to save me from Eudial, I started to think that maybe there was something in them."  
  
My jaw dropped; I couldn't help it. "It took me almost dying for you to see that? Oh, Haruka, you _are_ dense sometimes. Haven't you noticed that I've been trying to get your attention for months now?"  
  
She gawked at me for a moment, and then looked indignant. "Dense? Me? Now that's the pot calling the kettle black. What about all the things I did to try and make you notice me?"  
  
I stared at her. "You. . ."  
  
"I spent all my free time with you."  
  
"I came to all of your races."  
  
"I let you ride in my car."  
  
"I agreed to move in with you."  
  
"And here I thought it was just because we were partners," we both said in unison.  
  
For almost a full minute we stared at each other in disbelief. Then I started to laugh. Soon she was laughing with me. What a pair of fools we'd been. We laughed until we could hardly breathe, and collapsed against each other, gasping for breath. I ended up leaning against her shoulder, with her head resting on top of mine.  
  
"Haruka," I said when I could finally breathe again.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"We're such idiots."  
  
"I second that," she said, slipping an arm around my waist. It felt right, as though my body had been made to fit into that arm.  
  
"Do you think," I ventured finally, "that those dreams really were flashbacks, and that we were lovers in our former lives?"  
  
"I have no idea," she replied.  
  
"We could ask Sailor Pluto," I suggested.  
  
Haruka shivered. "No way. That woman knows too bloody much as it is. Anyway, I don't care what we were in a past life. I only care if we can be lovers now."  
  
Instead of answering verbally, I kissed her.  
  
Owari 


End file.
